Mikael's Growl

[Blackwater Demon]

Just wondering, when Mike does the death growl does he full out scream or does he growl at a lower tone? My wife askedme this earlier and I didnt know the answer.

 

[JemGaarenstroom]

I think it's slightly louder than you would be speaking in a normal conversation. The microphone is what magnifies it to its full height.

 

[Sexy_Grandpa]

Ultimately we could only think of one good person, our good friend Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth...We were all so amazed by his singing phenomenon. Of course we'd heard him growl before, but never his naked voice alone without music. There was no clue to whatever technique he was using, but the guy sounded like he had surgery where the doctors must have wired an amplifier down his throat! Nevertheless, his output volume was really low! If you were standing in the room with the music muted, his vocals sounded at most like loud whispers...

-Anders Nystrom from Katatonia, taken from the liner notes of my copy of 'Brave Murder Day'

 

[Hedon-]

doesnt sound like a whisper to me, maybe his new technique is louder or something

definitely not a full out scream though as it would wreck his vocal cords completely

 

[FRUGiHOYi]

Yeah one of my friends asked him about the growl and he said he uses the low volume technique. It probably got naturally louder over time; that's what happened with me.

 

[Annihilat0r]

His voice is low pitched already so that helps.

 

[Slaydon]

I was always wondering how he could growl with such ferocity and not lose his voice or have problems with his throat. Now I see how.

 

[Hedon-]

^how?

 

[Slaydon]

^how?

Growling low into the microphone turned on high.

 

[Annihilat0r]

In Mike's brutals there is little distortion, it's all his voice

 

[FRUGiHOYi]

In Mike's brutals there is no distortion, it's all his voice

Corrected.

 

[Annihilat0r]

Actually I meant that too, dunno why I said "little".

 

[stefan86]

He definitely uses low volume in the studio if you look at the distance from the mic when he changes from clean to growl. However, in a live situation he probably has to push more unless it's a stage with really good sound.